


Sleep

by Astral_Space_Dragon



Category: Devil May Cry
Genre: Family, Family Feels, Gen, Mild Canonical Torture, Swearing, maybe like 10 short sentences, nothing too bad, y'know usual DMC stuff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-03
Updated: 2020-04-03
Packaged: 2021-03-01 05:07:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,505
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23465890
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Astral_Space_Dragon/pseuds/Astral_Space_Dragon
Summary: *Copied from Tumblr*This fic is inspired by fellow DMC lover @boxofgrifs and the headcanon that came to my head from it.Here’s her post with the said tags: https://boxofgrifs.tumblr.com/post/185765310620
Relationships: Dante & Vergil (Devil May Cry), Nero & Vergil (Devil May Cry)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 75





	Sleep

_Everything was quiet at Devil May Cry; a rare occurrence. The phone hadn’t rang all day and the two Sparda twins had found themselves with a day off. Dante slept at the desk at the front of the agency in case the phone actually did ring. Vergil, on the other hand, sat in one of the sofas reading. When the two had returned from Hell, Dante immediately “demanded” Vergil stay at the agency and Vergil, knowing he didn’t have much of a choice, agreed. Within a week Vergil had his own living quarters set up._

“You don’t sleep much, do you?”

Vergil turned his head to his twin with that ever permanent scowl on his face. While the kinship between the two men has improved since their return from Hell, Vergil has yet to get used to Dante speaking his mind. Vergil doesn’t hate it; in fact, simply talking with Dante is one of the things he missed during his time of solitude. It was how spontaneous Dante was that caught Vergil off guard.

“What are you talking about, Dante…”

“Exactly what I’m talking about, Verge”, Dante shrugs

“ _*sighs*_ Where is this question coming from?”, Vergil asked, irritated with Dante’s vague reply

Dante, having sensed his brother’s aggravation, raised his hands in defense, “It’s just an observation, that’s all.

“It’s just that I’ve never seen you sleeping. Whether it’s the middle or the day or 4 in the morning, you are wide awake. Just last night at 3, I found you in the kitchen just sitting at the counter staring into space. When I tapped your shoulder, you looked at me like I had just appeared out of nowhere.”

“Get to the point, Dante. You wouldn’t be telling me this if you didn’t want to know something”

“Damn right, I want to know something. What the hell, Verge? Do you have a bad case of insomnia that I don’t know about? What is going on?”, Dante demanded.

“I don’t see why that is any of your business”, Vergil retorted, getting more and more irritated.

At this point Dante is pissed off. Pissed off at Vergil and him dodging the question.  
He sat up and pointedly said to Vergil,

“Don’t you start pulling that shit again! None of that “lone wolf” bullshit! Stop acting like you have something to prove!”

Vergil eyed Dante and with scowl growing deeper and the Yamato in his grip, retorts,

“I’m not trying to prove something. My personal habits are none of your damn business!”

“And yet you shove your nose into my– Where the fuck you are going?!” yelled Dante as he watched Vergil stand up and leave.

“This conversation is a waste of time and going nowhere. When you can learn to be civil, I’ll be waiting.” Vergil replies as he strolled up the stairs towards his bedroom

“It would have been “civil” if you just answered my damn question!”

Vergil gave no response and kept his pace.

“What-the-fuck-ever!” _**FUCKING ASSHOLE**_

Vergil turned into the main hall and bumped into Nero. That’s right, the boy was staying at the agency to help Dante and Vergil get situated. How could he forget? And from the look on his face, he had heard everything that went down.

“Y’know opening up wouldn’t have killed you”, says Nero.

“I won’t have this conversation with you, too”, Vergil replies as he walked past Nero; he did not want to yell at him.

“It won’t hurt you to depend on him or others. That’s what he’s trying to tell you. You and I both know he won’t actually say it.”

Vergil said nothing.

“Well, goodnight…dad”, bid Nero as he headed towards his own quarters.

Vergil listened to Nero’s fading footsteps until he could no longer hear them. _Damn it. That boy is smarter than he gives himself credit for._ Vergil can’t help but feel a small swell of pride at that thought. Whether that pride was paternal or not, he wasn’t entirely sure. Being a father is still a foreign concept to him. Was this how Sparda felt with him and Dante?

Vergil shook the thoughts from his mind and entered is room. He plopped onto his bed blanketed with silk sheets (a suggestion from Dante. A good one, too). Maybe he could finally get a full night’s sleep after all these years.

——————————————————–

_He feels nothing but the pain of demons cutting at his flesh. He watches as Mundus rips his beating heart from his chest. Cutting him open with the Yamato. The sound of cracking bones and ripping flesh. Pain and blood. Loneliness. And… a scream? Oh god. His mother. They’re tearing her apart._

_“VERGIL!”_

_—————————————————–_

Vergil jolts awake and he feels tears fall down his face. After a few minutes, he manages to calm down. He looks at the clock. _2:25am._ He’s been asleep for 2 and a half hours. A new record. He sits in the dark for several more minutes before exiting his room and walking towards the kitchen to make some tea.

When Vergil enters the kitchen, the first thing he sees is Dante sitting at the counter. He’s wide awake and his head is leaning on a clenched hand, deep in thought. He looks at Vergil for a moment before starting into space again.

Vergil opens the fridge and pulls out one of the bottles of tea that Lady likes to stock up on and takes a long drink.

“I could hear your heartbeat, y’know. With how fast it was going, it must’ve been a pretty nasty dream” Dante simply states.

Vergil opens his mouth to say something in retaliation when he sees Dante’s eyes. Or at least, the overall look of him. The statement wasn’t a jab at Vergil. It was in empathy. Vergil thought about what Nero had said. He sighed,

“I haven’t had a full night’s sleep since that night”

Dante looks up at his brother. He’s knows exactly what night he’s referring to….

“When I was in Hell, I could only sleep for a few hours at a time. When I was controlled by Mundus, I got even less sleep”

Dante remained silent; just kept looking at Vergil.

“Even after I was freed from his control, I kept my sporadic sleep habits. When you’re in Hell, sleep becomes a luxury. When I did get to sleep, it would just be endless nightmares. Demons cutting at me, Mundus having total control and they always end with…. Our mother screaming my name”

“That is why I don’t sleep a lot. My time in Hell has drilled the habit into my life”.

For several minutes, both brothers remain silent until Dante revealed, “I hear her screams, too”

This doesn’t come as a surprise to Vergil. Their mother’s passing left a big scar on both of them.

“I also dream about the time I thought I killed you and the guilt that ate me away. I also dream of our fight on the Qliphoth Tree. Only difference is, Nero doesn’t stop us in time and we either end up both dying or one of us dies. Always end the same…. With Nero breaking down”.

Vergil stares at Dante in surprise. He has dreams just like that, too.

Dante continues, “There’s one thing I don’t get….”

“And that is?”

“From everything you told me, it sounds like you try to avoid sleeping. Why is that?”

A downcast look crosses Vergil’s face. _Dante. As observant as ever._

“You’re right on that. I do avoid sleep. I do so because I don’t want to wake up any of this end up being an illusion”

Dante’s eyes widen at Vergil’s confession. ****_That’s why._ ****

“I don’t want to wake up one day only to realize that all of this is an illusion set up by Mundus. Fight alongside you and Nero, no longer being alone, the security of it all. I don’t want any of it to be a lie”.

_Vergil…._

“I’ve already lost so much. I don’t want to lose more time than I already have”.

Both brothers stood in heavy silence for several minutes before Dante finally stood from the counter and walked towards Vergil.

Vergil watching Dante’s every move, expected physical retaliation. Instead, he got a firm but comforting hand on his shoulder.

“You’re an even bigger idiot than I thought. You don’t have to go through this alone. Mundus is not here. If he does comeback, we’ll take him down together. You don’t have just me. You also have Nero”

Vergil gawked at Dante with wide eyes.

“What I’m trying to say is you can depend on us. You’re not alone. Not anymore.”

More silence as Vergil stared at Dante until a smile growing on Vergil’s face. Not a fake mocking one. But a genuine smile.

Without any warning, Dante enveloped Vergil in his arms.

To say the gesture surprised the oldest twin would be an understatement. It was several moments until Vergil finally returned the hug.

It had finally gotten to his head. He’s not alone. Not anymore.

**Author's Note:**

> I really hope you enjoyed this little fic. I enjoyed writing it at the time and I'm honestly really proud of it


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